Mia Taylor

I loved Hong Kong!! I could definitely live there. first off, we had a typhoon to avoid so we couldn’t make it safely to Quindao, China! The Typhoon/Cyclone was tossing the ship everywhere. I was so nervous! My friend Kristine and I fell asleep for only an hour and it was in the hallway where it was far less rocky. The security guy woke us up & told us we were a fire hazard. I was so anxious and scared the whole time, I hated it!

So, we got to Hong Kong port and the skyline was amazing! The architecture there is so intense. there are about twenty buildings that are the headquarters for companies like Phillips, Epson, Canon and a lot more. Those buildings have huge neon signs on the top, it’s crazy.

(At about 8pm every night they do a light show on the Marina where all the buildings in the city have intense lighting systems built into their structures. It is quite a sight and even better on a clear night from Victoria Peak.)

In Hong Kong city we visited the Stanley Market and I bought a leather Chloe purse in a gorgeous royal blue. Ok, enough shopping-talk.

One of the days we were there we took a speed ferry to Macau Island and they are going to be the next little Las Vegas, it’s crazy! They already have a “Sands” a “Wynn” and a “Venetian” hotel. There us a long bridge by the Venetian hotel and it is a ten minute walk to Mainland China. You can see a total difference in the Economy even just by looking at the border. Macau Island is struggling with decrepit buildings while just over the bridge there are tall apartment complexes and office buildings like in Hong Kong. (Without the lights)

After Macau Island, we went to Lantau Island. We got on a bus and drove through mountainous valleys for an hour. Here we saw a 150 foot Buddha that you have to climb up a mountain to get to. The view up there was so beautiful. There were 8 or 9 surround Islands that were only partially visible through the mist, but I think that may have contributed to the fantastic scenery.

After Lantau we went to the Jade market and night markets. There were so many people at both of these markets that it was sometimes difficult to even walk. The night markets were a totally different demographic and seemed a bit more corrupt. ( They hid their knock-offs until you walk by) It’s amazing how real they look.

The port we came in to in hong Kong was huge! It was attached to a mall that had every store imaginable. There were also Basketball courts! It was unheard of! I really liked Hong Kong. So far it ranks among my favorite ports.

I will have to start my Malaria pills soo. Supposedly they give you really vivid and weird dreams. We’ll see.

Next Stop- “GOOD MORNING VIET-NAM!”

We arrived really early in the morning and
I walked/stumbled onto the 7th deck Aft to watch the fireboat squirt water 30 feet into the air. Then, when docked, a live marching band greeted us playing Mission Impossible themes and a lot of other songs. It was so sweet! We learned how to say “OHIO” (phonetically) which means “Good Morning!” Then, we got onto a train to Osaka. We grabbed some beers from the local vending machines, took out Yen from the ATM where you could see straight into the men’s urinals
(a sight I can’t erase even to this day) and made our way to the Kyocera Dome Osaka for the local baseball experience. Basically, a place for intense socializing and suit-dawned, briefcase dragging brews. I met some really awesome people and nearly everyone was wasted. We did Sakebombs outside of the stadium and we were with one of the RD’s the whole time. Roy got way more drunk than I did, it was a sight.
After Osaka’s fun-filled baseball game, we took a train, hungover, to Kyoto. This train is the fastest in the world, hence the name The Bullet Train. We went to see the shrines in Kyoto and the Old Imperial Palace. It was pouring rain the entire time, half of us wearing sandals and unprepared, we were all miserable. So far, we were not impressed by Japan. The temple was beautiful and the shrines were amazing, but I wish we were able to appreciate it all a bit more comfortably.
I didn’t really like the people I traveled with except my closer friends and don’t expect to travel with them again.
( I tried not to, but it was inevitable…wish I could do it without them next trip!)
The bullet train went so far that it was hard to see outside and it made our ears pop. We also went to a market that sold authentic (and gross) foods. They had figs and octopus, seasonings and fish guts, and more that I care not to describe. We made our way to the “Times Square of Japan” and were surrounded by umbrellas and curious stares from locals. We ate dinner and toasted to traveling the world. After dinner we went to a club area and some sketchy Jamaican guy offered to show us a club that was pretty dead. A few Japanese women were playing darts and the Martini I had was topped with powdered pepper) We ran into Semester At Sea students at the same club and it was so random.
(It felt like home, where you run into friends at random places…except in Japan.)
We- Me , Roy, Jeff b, Jeff C, Zach and Christina. We stayed at the Hilton-Tokyo. It was really nice and well-worth the night of complete relaxation for $500.00! AHK!
( The other people wanted to stay somewhere cheap and found a hostel near our hotel and found dirty underwear in their bed…so in retrospect, I’m glad I blew a bit more cash)
We woke up and went to the Ginza district, which is known as the “Electronic District.” I played Pachinko (Video Game Gambling) and watched the boys get drunk. We ate dinner and went out.
We went to Club Vanilla and a bunch of Japanese girls pulled me onto an island in the middle of the floor to dance. They told me ” You oh so sexy!” haha! Then I danced with a bunch of my girlfriends on a different Island.
Before going back to the ship, we ate Kobe Beef burgers (with chopsticks) and they were amazing. They were so tender that picking it up with chopsticks was quite a difficult task.
The Japanese people were very sweet, but to my surprise very few of them spoke english. the toilets (at nearly every public bathroom that was decent) were so weird. You have options on the side of the toilet that can make nature sounds for you while you sit.

Overall Japan was fun but I don’t really want to travel with these people again. All they wanted to do was get completely obliterated. Oh well, while they’re taking in crap, I’m taking away amazing experiences. Their loss.